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Post by mskrieger on Feb 20, 2018 13:00:58 GMT -5
I was thinking of putting in a row of blackberries along the streetside of my front yard. Thorny blackberries. Both for eating and to deter dogs and trespassers etc.
Anyone have any favorite blackberries and suggestions as to nurseries that supply them? I'd also like to try marionberries and boysenberries, but they are not thorny and were bred for the Pacific NW (so they may not like humidity as much as regular blackberries, and they may not deal with our frigid, icy winters...) Any East Coast experiences with these types? Tell me your blackberry stories!
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Post by Walk on Feb 20, 2018 16:00:27 GMT -5
I was thinking of putting in a row of blackberries along the streetside of my front yard. Thorny blackberries. Both for eating and to deter dogs and trespassers etc. Anyone have any favorite blackberries and suggestions as to nurseries that supply them? I'd also like to try marionberries and boysenberries, but they are not thorny and were bred for the Pacific NW (so they may not like humidity as much as regular blackberries, and they may not deal with our frigid, icy winters...) Any East Coast experiences with these types? Tell me your blackberry stories! Rugosa Roses keep critters out and don't attract many "grazers". The scent is lovely and the hips are good for tea. |
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Post by reed on Feb 20, 2018 17:42:45 GMT -5
I have tons of blackberries as they may be my favorite of all berries. Mine in the garden are all tame and thornless but also lots of wild ones all around the edges of the yard. A strange one is now spreading and taking over in the weeds along the old road. It has massive canes, nasty nasty stickers and gobs and gobs of wonderful fruit. I'v been trying to keep it at bay without completely killing it but may go ahead and do that. It is so big and aggressive and most fruit goes to waste anyway cause it is too high up and stickers are too intense, only those on the tips of the arched canes are accessible. Probably not much help but it's a blackberry story  . |
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Post by philagardener on Feb 20, 2018 19:22:57 GMT -5
The wildlings here suffer from a bright orange rust that takes off in the humid parts of summers. Hope you don't encounter that! Not sure if any of the cultivars is resistant to it.
I've been able to grow one of the thornless varieties called Navaho by keeping it well away from those and have to fight with the squirrels for each fruit. The thornless plants seem a lot less vigorous in my experience.
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Post by steev on Feb 20, 2018 20:11:47 GMT -5
Yes, once something is tamed and domesticated, it generally loses the vigor of the wild state, whether plants, animals, or husbands.
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Post by jondear on Feb 20, 2018 22:35:40 GMT -5
No story here, but Nourse is a pretty popular east coast nursery. Beware of their website, you may have the urge to order more than you originally intended...
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Post by mskrieger on Feb 21, 2018 14:21:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips. I'm also thinking of ordering from Stark Bros. (they have both Marion and Boysen berries) as well as Arkansas berry and plant farm www.arkansasberryandplantfarm.com/blackberry-plants.html They have a large selection of thorny types, vigorous with good flavor. Walk I am well familiar with the rugosa roses, which grow wild along the beaches. Blackberries are much tastier  |
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Post by mskrieger on Feb 22, 2018 13:25:43 GMT -5
The wildlings here suffer from a bright orange rust that takes off in the humid parts of summers. Hope you don't encounter that! Not sure if any of the cultivars is resistant to it. Which type of disease do you see? This article has a good description and pics of the two most common rusts seen on blackberries in the South: www.raspberryblackberry.com/is-it-blackberry-leaf-rust-or-orange-rust/I have not observed rusts on wild blackberries around here, but they are not particularly common, not particularly tasty, and far too often grow entangled with poison ivy. |
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Post by reed on Feb 22, 2018 13:49:56 GMT -5
I'v seen what looks like that orange rust in the pictures but rarely enough that I can't really associate it with any particular time of year or weather conditions.
Our wild berries come in a pretty wide variety. I don't know if it is genetic or environmental. Those growing along fields or roads where they are exposed to the east and shielded by a nearby woods on the west tend to be largest and most flavorful. They are also the ones that produce best in drought conditions. More exposed ones dry up before ripening.
I like them all but the thornless ones to me are an exception to the rule that wild is better flavor wise. I have one giant one that when fully ripe tastes a little like mulberries. I'v had tame ones a long time and don't remember the variety names except one I pretty sure was Arapaho. I'v cloned and transplanted them all over the place and think some have even come up volunteer.
The giant thorny one may be a cross between tame and wild. On second thought I'm not going to completely kill it, that would be a terrible thing to do. I'm gonna transplant starts along the road away from the yard.
Of course I don't have any now but if you remind me at picking time I could send you some seeds.
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Post by Walk on Feb 22, 2018 16:51:28 GMT -5
Walk I am well familiar with the rugosa roses, which grow wild along the beaches. Blackberries are much tastier The brambles are indeed tastier and more versatile in the kitchen, but the rugosa roses are more wicked in the thorny fencing department ;>). Many years ago I had a friend who lived in a nearby town that had problems with drunken college students crossing through her yard on the way home from the downtown bars and back to campus and causing damage to her plantings, young trees, etc. I gave her enough roses to plant the perimeter of the corner lot and the problem was soon solved. |
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Post by philagardener on Feb 22, 2018 21:22:43 GMT -5
The wildlings here suffer from a bright orange rust that takes off in the humid parts of summers. Hope you don't encounter that! Not sure if any of the cultivars is resistant to it. Which type of disease do you see? This article has a good description and pics of the two most common rusts seen on blackberries in the South: www.raspberryblackberry.com/is-it-blackberry-leaf-rust-or-orange-rust/I have not observed rusts on wild blackberries around here, but they are not particularly common, not particularly tasty, and far too often grow entangled with poison ivy. I clearly have the orange rust variety, and it is on wild, thorny bushes (which are supposed to be more resistant  ) No non-chemical controls, and a systemic problem, so I'm just not feeling it is worth trying to grow blackberries here  |
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Post by steev on Feb 22, 2018 23:49:38 GMT -5
You might try a bicarb spray to take the rust out of its comfort zone, without toxifying things much; maybe even a clean-ash spray would work, being sure to get the leaves' undersides, where the rust is happiest.
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Post by philagardener on Feb 23, 2018 18:44:00 GMT -5
Great suggestion but it's widespread on the ones growing wild so unfortunately it isn't practical to hit them all. To make matters worse, it seems to keep them from fruiting.  The article mskrieger linked to says it is a systemic infection, and one has to completely dig out the plants to get rid of it . . . Fortunately, my red and black raspberries don't seem bothered by it!  |
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Post by mskrieger on Feb 26, 2018 16:44:39 GMT -5
I'm also considering red and black raspberries, as philagardener mentions. Those do really well here. But I remember the deliciousness of the blackberries we would pick at a farm near where I used to live in Maryland...mmmm... Perhaps I will order from Nourse, which is in Massachusetts, closest to my climate and probably doesn't have any viruses I don't have locally already. Thanks for the commentary, everyone! |
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Post by reed on Feb 26, 2018 19:31:33 GMT -5
Raspberries are a nice choice, I have lots of them as well and the tame ones produce pretty good, wild ones produce hardly at all around here anymore. I don't know why, the canes generally look good at least early in the season but they either don't set fruit or the fruit dries up. You find them sometimes with bunches of little brown raspberry mummies.
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